The current assumption in library OPAC discussions is that patrons want keyword, Google-like searches. However, when we went through the Web catalog logs, the data indicates that our patrons choose to use some sort of browses earch--usually Title browse search, which is the default. Title is definitely the preferred search index-whether it is a Browse search or a Keyword search. In 2003, when we last did this sort of analysis, we had Subject as the default search. Users made a conscious choice to change to "Start of Title" (as it was called then) and there are still considerably more Title searches than any other kind of search, so we made Title Browse the default.
We separated out searches made from external IP addresses from those made from Winnefox library IP addresses so that one could compare searches done w/o the possibility of results being done by library staff. Again, Browse searches made up over 60% of the types of searches done, and Title is by far the most popular. Pure keyword searches (those labeled "default") are by far the minority of searches performed, comprising only 6% of total searches.
How the statistics were gathered:When a patron uses the catalog, a log entry is generated that reports the following information if available: command used (either keyword_search or authority_search), index used, screen accessed, limit options applied, search terms used, and the user's IP address. We pulled a week's worth of log files.
The "Other" categories which appear on the charts are log entries generated when no specific command is given. This occurs when a patron goes from page to page on a hitlist, when they click on a title or subject heading, or anytime they click to get back to the hitlist. While the vast majority of these are merely continuations of previous searches, there were enough unique searches that we couldn't eliminate the entire category.
68% of these "Other" entries were generated from the "Authority" screen which means they were the continuation of a Browse search. 6.9% of the "other" entries used a search index of "Default" which means it was a pure keyword search. The remaining 24.2% were generated by other screens like the hitlist which could have been the result of any kind of search.
Vocabulary: Authority Screen- this refers to the screen one sees after having done a Browse Title, Author, or Subject search. It is a list of links which will either take one to a hitlist of specific titles, or directly to a specific record. Authority Search-The web catalog's name for a Browse Author, Subject or Title search, AKA "Start of" search. Default - The term the web catalog uses when doing a pure keyword search…not Keyword in Title, etc. Referrals - These are the links within a specific record in the catalog that the patron can click on. For example, when looking at the full record for an item, usually the author, title, and Subject headings are all blue and underlined indicating that the user can click on them to search for more items like the one they are currently viewing. kDBCN-The index the web catalog uses when doing a search on an OCLC number, ISBN, 035, or catalog number. Usually, these come from new book lists. Misc-Includes the occasional Boolean search, serials search, links from Ripon's "Browse by Category", etc.